WEBVTT 1 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:13.800 In the mid nineteen sixties, friends offered our family use 2 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:17.559 of their cabin in the Great Basin near Baca, Nevada, 3 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:20.760 only a few hours drive from our home in Eli. 4 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:24.679 That part of the country is mostly barren, with a 5 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:28.320 few pockets of beauty and mystery. It's where most of 6 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:32.840 Nevada's rivers and streams go to did disappearing into the 7 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:36.960 dry basin, only to tragically flow into the Great Salt Lake. 8 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:42.320 We were financially challenged, not homeless or starving, but we 9 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:46.679 definitely struggled and had some very lean times. It felt 10 00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:48.719 really good to tell people that we were going to 11 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:53.159 the cabin. However, it wasn't the quaint, rustic lakeside log 12 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:58.280 cabin or alpine chalet that one might have envisioned. After 13 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:01.640 what seemed like a really long drive of some over 14 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:05.519 rutted dirt roads up through a small canyon, we reached 15 00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:11.079 a tiny, ramshackle framed house. This pitiful thing looked a 16 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:14.400 very out of place, and there wasn't another structure anywhere 17 00:01:14.439 --> 00:01:19.799 that we could see. I was momentarily disenchanted. The cabin 18 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.280 consisted of only one room. At one side, there was 19 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:27.319 a big iron stove, possibly a few cabinets. It had 20 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:31.200 no running water or electricity. It had at least one 21 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:34.280 window on each side and two doors front and back. 22 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:37.840 The ladder opened onto a short path that led to 23 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:42.159 a small creek surrounded by shade trees. Because of the 24 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:45.519 property slope, they had leveled the cabin using pallets and 25 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:49.439 shims on the downhill side. This made the front left 26 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:52.400 side stand off the ground a couple of feet, making 27 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:55.480 the windows on the sides fairly high up to anyone 28 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:59.719 walking along. There wasn't much in the way of furnishings. 29 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:02.760 A couple of old metal bed frames that someone had 30 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:06.760 placed sheets of plywood on, and those served as couches 31 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:10.840 and beds. Using sawhorses and wood slats, we made a 32 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:15.080 tiny table by removing the plywood sheet, setting a sawhorse 33 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:17.599 in the middle, and adding a one by six slant 34 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:21.639 to each end for seating, and replacing the plywood crossways 35 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:25.439 on the sawhorse for a table. Out there. We never 36 00:02:25.639 --> 00:02:30.479 encountered people. We never even saw another car. A badger 37 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:32.800 would always pop up out of its burrow by the 38 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:35.800 road to race our car as we neared the cabin, 39 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:38.039 and as soon as he gave up the chase, he 40 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:42.000 would duck back down in another hole. Our friend the badger, 41 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:45.240 was one of the highlights of our visit. Mom watched 42 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:47.479 out for him and would call out to us when 43 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:51.039 she spotted him so we didn't miss out. She would 44 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:53.280 slow down for a bit for him to keep up 45 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:57.400 for as long as he could. Inside the cabin at night, 46 00:02:57.599 --> 00:02:59.960 mice would skid her back and forth over the floor, 47 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:02.919 and in the daylight you could see their tiny prints 48 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:05.719 in the dust. It was a little unnerving to hear 49 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:10.280 them scurrying about at night. We really didn't mind the 50 00:03:10.360 --> 00:03:14.199 isolation so much, though. My three sisters and I love 51 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:17.280 being out in the wilderness and roughing it. As far 52 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:20.080 as my parents were concerned, the more remote the better. 53 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:24.840 They hated sharing the great outdoors, and with few exceptions, 54 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:27.599 camping and hiking were pretty much the only kind of 55 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:32.360 vacation our family ever took. One day, we realized that 56 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:35.159 we could dam up the creek with rocks to create 57 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:37.520 a little pool for us to sit in, kind of 58 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.439 like a hot tub, only filled with the icy mountain 59 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:45.360 runoff on a hot day. It was divine. Overspill allowed 60 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:49.639 the creek to still float within hiking distance. There was 61 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:54.280 an abandoned garnet mine that reportedly had belonged to Alfred Hitchcock. 62 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:58.800 We climbed huge dunes of garnets, where we had hoped 63 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:03.560 to see shiny rids. We found heaps of dusky maroon pebbles, 64 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:07.360 smaller than BB's in rough in texture, and if you 65 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:10.039 tried to polish one, I think there might not be 66 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:14.719 anything left. Possibly the larger stones had been extracted, leaving 67 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:20.199 these which were likely industrial grade, if of any value. 68 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:23.240 We had many happy stays at the cabin through the years, 69 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:26.680 even when some of us were entering our teens, we 70 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.199 still look forward to going. In the spring or summer 71 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:33.120 of nineteen seventy one, after the four of us had 72 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:37.199 been staying with our grandparents, we were excited and waiting 73 00:04:37.240 --> 00:04:39.839 for our mom to pick us up because she had 74 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:44.000 promised we'd go straight to the cabin. When mom arrived, 75 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:48.920 we virtually pounced on her, our excitement running over. She 76 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:52.600 seemed oddly reticent. I got the impression that she was 77 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:57.199 hoping we'd forgotten. Before leaving, we had lunch where the 78 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:01.600 subject of bigfoot came up. Our grandmother had started buying 79 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:06.680 the National Inquirer. We had never seen a more Outrageous magazine, 80 00:05:07.399 --> 00:05:10.639 and the issue that we were most fascinated with was 81 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:14.920 the one about the notorious Bigfoot creature. There were stills 82 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:19.839 from the Patterson Gimlin film, artist depictions and eyewitness accounts, 83 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:23.319 and photos of tracks that had been cast in maps 84 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:27.600 that showed the locations of sightings. Our mother seemed a 85 00:05:27.639 --> 00:05:30.079 little bothered by the topic, and she kept trying to 86 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:34.839 steer the conversation away from Bigfoot. Most of the drive 87 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:37.680 to the cabin was unremarkable, but because I was kind 88 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:40.600 of a pest and I realized the topic of Bigfoot 89 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:45.360 made Mom uneasy, I continued to talk about it. My 90 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:48.120 sisters picked up on my cues and joined in on 91 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:51.480 the ruse. In our minds, we were just having some 92 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:56.279 harmless fun and Mom listened, tight lipped, but finally retorted, Oh, 93 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:00.439 that's just out there in California. It's not here. Oh no, oh, Mom, 94 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:03.560 I said, they say they're seeing them all over now, 95 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:07.079 even in Nevada. Of course I hadn't read or heard 96 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:10.399 any such thing, but she went quiet again, so we 97 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:14.199 decided to stop torturing her, and we soon forgot about 98 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:17.600 it all For the rest of the drive. We took 99 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:22.240 it in turns arguing and singing annoying road trip songs, 100 00:06:22.439 --> 00:06:26.399 or napping. We all perked up. However, when our faithful 101 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:29.120 friend the Badger popped out of his burrow beside the 102 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:33.720 road for a race he had never disappointed us. Everything 103 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:38.879 seemed right for the moment. Our spirits dampened. However, when 104 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:42.639 we saw the sorry state of our favorite getaway. The 105 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:45.560 back door had been completely torn off and tossed down 106 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:48.399 the hill, and the hinges were bent and twisted from 107 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:51.959 the violent removal. There was no way we could set 108 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:54.399 it back in, even if we had the tools, which 109 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:57.839 we did not. The interior was full of leaves and 110 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:01.439 dirt that had blown in. Sweeping the floor, we could 111 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:05.639 see dried mud that had been tracked in. Mom was 112 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:08.879 dismissive and said that she heard that hunters had been 113 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:12.199 using the cabin. I wonder why they tore the back 114 00:07:12.279 --> 00:07:15.759 door off, because it was never locked. Even if it 115 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:19.360 had been, they could have just broken the lock. Also, 116 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:23.199 deer season was pretty cold, you'd think hunters would appreciate 117 00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:26.680 a door. Anyway, We shrugged it off and cleaned it 118 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:29.360 up and went out to our pool for a dip. 119 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.000 Our dam had been broken up in the preceding year 120 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:39.000 during reconstruction, we silently cussed out those rude hunters. It 121 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:41.800 wasn't the first time my favorite outdoor area had been 122 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:46.759 spoiled by hunters, so we didn't think much more about it. 123 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:50.720 It got dark and Mom's anxiety returned and intensified as 124 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:53.920 the night wore on. We attacked a large sheet of 125 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:57.360 heavy plastic she had found to cover the doorway. We 126 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.480 hung it like a curtain. After dinner, we went to bed, 127 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:05.639 everyone except Mom. She stayed up all night stoking the 128 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:10.079 fire and the old iron coal and wood stove. I 129 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:12.519 was a light sleeper and kept waking up because I 130 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:16.040 heard her pacing now and then she'd rush over and 131 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:20.000 she'd ask, are you okay? Are you girls okay? It 132 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:22.639 was a little annoying, but I'd assure her that we 133 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:27.079 were finding the plywood mattress was comfortable, and surprisingly it was. 134 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:31.079 It was at that point I began to feel guilty 135 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:33.639 for filling her head with the Bigfoot stories. But I 136 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:37.480 never thought she'd taken us seriously. Besides, she was the 137 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:41.000 bravest person I had ever known. Now I wish I 138 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.320 had stayed awake with her or asked her to lie 139 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:47.120 down with us, after all, she had driven nearly all day, 140 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:52.000 but kids can be pretty self centered. During the night, 141 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:55.799 it began to snow, with an average elevation of sixty 142 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:58.159 eight hundred feet. It was the time of year that 143 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:00.440 it could snow anytime, so it could have been as 144 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:04.440 early as April or spring break, or between June through August. 145 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:07.720 Not sure when exactly we were there, though I thought 146 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:11.840 the gentle snow flurries were beautiful and peaceful until a sudden, 147 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:15.440 loud wind gust blew the plastic sheeting that hung over 148 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:19.080 the door and sent it flapping up into the room. 149 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:23.080 It's possible that Mom's anxiousness was getting to me, because 150 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:26.480 at the moment the wind blasted that plastic sheet, I 151 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:30.399 sat uprightfully, expecting to see bigfoot standing in the doorway 152 00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:34.120 and roaring at us. But there was nothing but blackness 153 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:37.039 that stared back at me, and only the wind howled. 154 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:42.240 It was a frightening moment. Nonetheless, Mom scrambled to secure 155 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:45.200 the plastic around the doorframe the edges, and we settled 156 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:50.480 into an uneasy wait for daylight. We left the next day, 157 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:53.320 never to return. For the most part, I thought it 158 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:56.799 was just all a funny scare over nothing. Really. I 159 00:09:56.840 --> 00:09:59.279 don't recall any of us kids ever asking to go 160 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:02.080 back in. Our parents never again suggested we go to 161 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:05.720 the cabin again for a trip. Sorry, little Badger friend, 162 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:10.600 we sure miss you now. In twenty twenty, my mother 163 00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:13.879 was eighty four and I was sixty one. She was 164 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:18.720 bedridden and she had dementia. The television kept her occupied. 165 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:23.320 One show she liked was Unsolved Mysteries, which usually covered 166 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:27.919 crimes or disappearances. But one time, while I was taking 167 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:32.080 care of her, an episode about Bigfoot came on. A 168 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:34.840 little ways into it. Mom said, Oh, that's just silly. 169 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:38.080 You don't think that's real, do you. I told her, 170 00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:40.960 I thought it was possible that they were real, that 171 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:43.279 there were a lot of personal accounts, and I found 172 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:49.960 many people who reported encounters quite credible. Mom's demeanor changed notably, 173 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:53.759 so I paused the program. She told me something that 174 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:56.639 had happened to her and dad at the cabin. It 175 00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:58.679 was the time they'd send us girl to stay at 176 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:03.320 Grandma's that took advantage of being temporarily childless and went 177 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:06.279 to the cabin. I find it odd neither of them 178 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:09.840 until now had ever mentioned that they'd gone there alone, 179 00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:12.320 not that it would have mattered to us kids, but 180 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:16.360 it's odd that they never said anything about it. Mom 181 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:18.159 said she woke up in the middle of the night 182 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:22.759 when something jiggled a doorknob. What or whoever it was 183 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:26.120 was very large and heavy, and it went around the cabin, 184 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:30.559 trying each door and windows, circling around and around. She 185 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:32.480 said that she was afraid to even look at the 186 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:35.720 windows for fear of what she might see. And she 187 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.559 said that she felt kind of a terror that she'd 188 00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:42.000 never felt before. I could see how it still scared 189 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:45.440 her to talk about it well. She woke my dad 190 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:48.879 to tell him what was going on. They laid there listening, 191 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:53.080 whispering only as necessary. They assumed it was a person, 192 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:57.200 and Dad was concerned the person might be armed. He 193 00:11:57.279 --> 00:11:59.759 didn't want to force a confrontation in the dark with 194 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:03.360 some one who obviously had an advantage on them, especially 195 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:08.039 since he himself was not armed. They decided to pack 196 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:10.720 up quickly at first like and made a mad dash 197 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:13.919 to the car to leave. I asked my mom if 198 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:16.919 she saw anything of what was outside the cabin that night. 199 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:20.559 She said that we really couldn't see anything. It was 200 00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:24.799 just a shadowy outline, but it was very tall. In 201 00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:28.200 the early morning light, they saw it run off, zigzagging 202 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:32.000 through the trees very fast. If it had been a person, 203 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.879 there would have been no accommodations out there to run to, 204 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:38.000 no nearby roads if they had come by a car. 205 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:43.720 It was remote and mostly barren wilderness. After Mom and 206 00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:46.840 Dad's strange night, the next time she saw the cabin 207 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:50.320 was alone with her daughters. She found it with the 208 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:53.000 door ripped off in the mud tracked floors, and that 209 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:56.320 must have been terrifying sight for her, especially knowing that 210 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:58.679 we had no gun or any way to call for help. 211 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:02.879 She probably should have left thin. I asked her why 212 00:13:02.919 --> 00:13:06.879 we didn't leave, and why she chose to stay. She 213 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.720 admitted that she didn't want to disappoint us or let 214 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:12.840 fear get the better of her. I think she hadn't 215 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:17.559 shared with anyone until she told me last year. When 216 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:19.480 I said it was odd that none of us ever 217 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:22.120 asked to go back, she said, it wouldn't have done 218 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:25.600 you any good anyway. I wasn't taking you back. We 219 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:28.639 never really feared creatures of the wilderness, even though there 220 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:31.360 are cougars and some black bears in the mountains and 221 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:34.360 the high deserts of Nevada in Utah, where we spent 222 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:38.639 a lot of time. On one camping trip up Wheeler Peak 223 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:41.360 before there were any roads up there, when we were 224 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:44.799 all pretty young, a mountain lion screamed at us all 225 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:48.519 night long. Before we had set up camp. Dad had 226 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:51.440 buried a deer carcass. He said, look like a mountain 227 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:54.240 lion had been feeding on it. But he thought that 228 00:13:54.320 --> 00:14:00.360 the big cat was finished. The big cat disagreed loudly. Still, 229 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:03.840 I don't remember being very scared even then, even though 230 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:07.240 we had just slept out on the ground, no tent ever. 231 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:10.639 We just slept under the stars, but til the cabin. 232 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:14.000 That's how we camped under the stars. I never said so, 233 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:17.960 but I hated it. Mom told me that she and 234 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:21.279 Dad many years later, did make one last trip up 235 00:14:21.320 --> 00:14:24.440 to the cabin just to see it. They found it 236 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:28.399 in even worse shape, and not just run down. The 237 00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:31.200 front door had also been ripped off like the back, 238 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:34.679 and that heavy wrought iron stove had been ripped out. 239 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:38.159 They found it busting up, lying in a ditch quite 240 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:42.320 away from the house. I really can't imagine people doing that, 241 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:49.279 even if they could have can you. It was a 242 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:53.120 cold and moonlit night and my church group was meeting 243 00:14:53.159 --> 00:14:57.639 at Rocky Springs for a bonfire. After it got dark, 244 00:14:57.679 --> 00:14:59.759 the group came up with the idea to visit the 245 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:03.000 old church. I was a little nervous, but I went 246 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:06.679 along with the crowd. We went into the church and 247 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:09.519 hit a few keys on the old organ that had 248 00:15:09.559 --> 00:15:12.879 been there for years, and then the girls decided to 249 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:16.639 stroll through the dark cemetery. It was a loud crowd, 250 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:18.799 and I told them not to be noisy so as 251 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:23.559 not to disturb the dead. After a few hours, everybody 252 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:27.120 left me there by myself. I eased down the church 253 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.559 driveway by myself and took out a small fluorescent light 254 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:34.159 I kept in my shirt pocket. I turned my light 255 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:37.879 on in the darkness of night, feeling a little uneasy 256 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:40.879 and nervous. It was at the foot of a drive 257 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:43.759 by a cedar tree that was on my left side, 258 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:47.480 which is still there today. All of a sudden, a 259 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:50.840 piece of brick came flying from the cemetery. It hit 260 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:54.840 the cedar tree branches and it nearly hit me. I 261 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.919 looked around, but I couldn't see what through it. I 262 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:00.919 jumped out and ran like a scared rabbit. Running as 263 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:03.799 fast as I could, I got up in my truck 264 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:06.279 and turned it on and got out of there. I 265 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:09.120 don't know what threw that rock, but someone once told 266 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:13.159 me that bigfoot guard cemeteries at night. Well. I went 267 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:15.879 back there twenty years later, but this time I packed 268 00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:20.759 a pistol, not taking any chances. All those years later, 269 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:24.639 I still felt uneasy around the old church. Had we 270 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:29.919 disturbed the dead? Or was it a sasquatch. Here's another 271 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.080 little fact. The whole town of Rocky Springs died from 272 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:37.399 a rare disease, so don't drink the water if you 273 00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:43.440 go there to visit. I moved away from home as 274 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:46.120 soon as I turned eighteen, and I found a place 275 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:49.519 to rent thirty miles from where I worked. It was 276 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:51.919 an old double wide trailer set back in the woods 277 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.519 where I didn't have any neighbors to deal with, and 278 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:57.200 I could do pretty much anything an eighteen year old 279 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:01.720 farm kid could ever want. After living there for a week, 280 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:07.519 I started noticing strange stuff, small things. At first, lights 281 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:10.759 would be on that I knew were turned off. Stuff 282 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:13.680 would go missing, only to turn up in places that 283 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:18.039 didn't make any sense. Tools would disappear from whatever car 284 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:20.839 I happened to be attempting to restore. At the time, 285 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:24.680 I'd find them scattered around too far out to have 286 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:28.720 been thrown even in a fit of rage, as anyone 287 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:33.119 familiar with working on a car can relate to. Once, 288 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:35.720 I was in the middle of replacing a radiator hose 289 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:38.000 and I stopped to make a run to the convenience 290 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:41.759 store for cigarettes. Before I left, I put a wrench 291 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:45.279 that I was using on top of my toolbox, figured 292 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:48.000 I'd only be gone for an hour at the most. 293 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:51.599 When I got back, there was no sign of the wrench. 294 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.079 Eventually I found it in the corner of an old 295 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:59.319 lean to that later became my furs shd. After a 296 00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:03.160 few months, things got more weird. Doors would slam in 297 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:07.240 the middle of the night, Dishes would break. Another time, 298 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:09.799 I came home and all my silverware had been dumped 299 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:13.079 out on the floor. A bottle of Scots that was 300 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:16.480 given to me by a coworker exploded in the cupboard. 301 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:21.160 And then things got worse, and eventually I started making 302 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:24.680 plans to get out of there. But about that time 303 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:28.039 I started hearing something walking around the house and yelling 304 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:32.880 my name and telling me to come outside. Two weeks 305 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:36.720 of that, I finally left and moved to Lebanon, Missouri. 306 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:39.680 A lot way back to that house a few times, 307 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:42.960 but it sat empty since I left. No one wants 308 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:45.759 to live out there. It's too far from everything and 309 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:49.680 there's no jobs close by. Now, let me tell you 310 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:53.200 a story about my girlfriend at the time. The house 311 00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:55.559 she lived in was close to the site of a 312 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:59.359 Union camp that was attacked by Confederate soldiers during the 313 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:02.720 Civil War. Or one night she was out closing the 314 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:06.160 chicken coop. While she was inside, she heard two men 315 00:19:06.279 --> 00:19:10.920 whispering what sounded like battle plans, something to the effect of, 316 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:14.640 we'll bring the cavalry in from the west. They won't 317 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:17.039 be able to head south because of the river. The 318 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.839 artillery will hit them from the north, and they'll be 319 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:24.559 dead before sunrise. And then I have one more story 320 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:28.440 that took place two miles from my girlfriend's house. We 321 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:31.880 were walking around in abandoned property, and by the look 322 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:34.119 of things, the owner had gotten up in the middle 323 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:38.559 of dinner, loaded everything into their sixties rambler and crashed 324 00:19:38.599 --> 00:19:42.559 it into a tree. There were still boxes and trunks 325 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:46.960 containing clothes and other belongings on the way out, we 326 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:50.480 started to feel like we were being followed. We noticed 327 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:54.799 a strong odor, like rotting fish in a full outhouse 328 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:58.599 in the heat of July. Close to the end of 329 00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:02.440 the driveway, I saw a pile of small animal bones, 330 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:06.920 probably a cat a raccoon from the size. When we 331 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:09.240 got back to the house, we talked it over and 332 00:20:09.319 --> 00:20:11.359 decided to go back and check it out some more. 333 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:15.240 This time I had the sense to go more prepared, 334 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:18.680 so I grabbed a handgun and an extra mag and 335 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:21.799 I grabbed a machette and a headlamp and a shovel 336 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:26.480 and a hatchet. When we returned, the smell was even stronger. 337 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:30.200 We searched the old shop and the storm shelter, and 338 00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:33.440 after a while we decided to take a closer look 339 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:37.200 at those bones. I noticed a cut on the inside 340 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:40.920 of the animal spine. It looked like the throat had 341 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:45.000 been cut. A little further away, my girlfriend found another 342 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:49.440 pile and another one further along. Over the next few 343 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:54.200 days we found three hundred and sixty five complete skeletons 344 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:57.920 belonging to cats and small dogs, and they were placed 345 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:02.160 in a circle around the house and the surrounding buildings. 346 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:05.160 The whole time we were there, it felt like something 347 00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:08.599 was standing right behind us. I don't know what was 348 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:11.160 going on or what was there with us, but I 349 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:18.039 know I'll never visit that house again. For the greater 350 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:22.480 part of my life, I never believed in things like sisquatch, 351 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:25.799 But when I overheard my dad listening to your channel, 352 00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:31.160 I was converted. I live in western Washington State, and 353 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:34.119 I have for most of my life. My parents have 354 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:37.440 taken us fishing and hiking for years, and we're used 355 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:41.400 to the forests of the Pacific Northwest. We live way 356 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:44.079 down a dirt road that borders some old logging land, 357 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:47.599 where my family and I often walk back there. We 358 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:50.240 could hike out to the lakes and sometimes for a 359 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:54.559 birthday get to go shooting at the old quarry well. 360 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:57.720 One night a couple of years ago, a huge thunderstorm 361 00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:01.799 rolled into our area. The clouds were so thick that 362 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:05.799 the sky had become a black abyss. There was thunder 363 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:08.240 and lightning and rain in hell, and it was one 364 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:11.680 hell of a tempest. That night, my family and I 365 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:15.200 were watching a movie when my sister exclaimed that she 366 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:18.960 had just seen lightning at once. My mom and dad 367 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:22.640 and three youngest siblings and our dog Boaz, jumped up 368 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:25.319 and went to the back door to watch the storm. 369 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:28.240 My brother and I stayed behind to finish what we 370 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:31.119 were doing, but within a few minutes, urged by the 371 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:33.720 many oohs and ahs of the rest of our family, 372 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:36.240 we ran to the back door to see what was 373 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:42.440 going on. Well. The storm was spectacular. Lightning streaked across 374 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:45.680 the dark backdrop of the clouds in a brilliant flash 375 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:49.519 of white and purple, and thunder boomed the seconds after, 376 00:22:49.640 --> 00:22:54.720 as if celebrating the joys of lightning's intricate dance. Droplets 377 00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:57.759 of rain as large as marbles plummeted down to the 378 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:01.960 earth and exploded into even or orbs of water as 379 00:23:01.960 --> 00:23:05.720 they hit the ground. It was a joyous and standing 380 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:08.799 there watching the power and strength of nature as it 381 00:23:08.839 --> 00:23:13.279 displayed its awesome might to us. But we stood there 382 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:16.880 watching the storm for a while until the lightning started 383 00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:20.799 to die down. Everyone went back inside to enjoy the 384 00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:23.680 rest of their evening except my brother and our dog 385 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:26.680 and me. We were hoping to catch a few more 386 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:30.240 glimpses of plasma in the sky from outside the back door. 387 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:35.400 We waited outside for the next bolt of lightning, when 388 00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:39.400 bos started acting funny. It was walking around us and 389 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:43.680 acting skittish. My brother let him back inside in exchange 390 00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:47.039 to confused. Look with me, that was weird, I said. 391 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:51.359 A boez is a big dog, about thirty inches wide 392 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:54.680 at the shoulder, and he's protective and he would usually 393 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:58.400 throw himself at anything he deemed as dangerous before he 394 00:23:58.519 --> 00:24:01.480 let it get anywhere near us, so his behavior was 395 00:24:01.640 --> 00:24:06.839 very unusual. A few minutes later, a scream came roaring 396 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:09.359 out of the edge of the woods. It was one 397 00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:13.920 of the most terrifying things I have ever experienced. To 398 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:17.319 describe it, it would not be true to its nature. 399 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:21.480 It was like an owl screech, but louder, fiercer, and 400 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:25.200 fused with a wild man's howl, and it was coming 401 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:27.640